MONTGOMERY -- Re­publican Robert Bentley has a
significant lead over Democrat Ron Sparks in the race to be Alabama's
next governor, according to a new poll by Rasmussen Reports.

The poll of 500 likely vot­ers showed Bentley with 55 percent of the
vote and Sparks with 35 percent, with 8 percent of those polled saying
they were un­decided. The poll had a margin of error of 4.5 per­centage

points. However, the Sparks' campaign said other polling
data shows a slimmer mar­gin between the two candi­dates. A Tuesday
poll by Capital Survey Research Center, the polling arm of the Alabama
Education As­sociation, showed Bentley with 52 percent to Sparks' 39
percent, with a margin of error of 4.2 points.

Bentley said the
Rasmus­sen Reports poll "shows how well Alabamians are responding to
our positive message and how they are really starting to see the
dif­ferences between myself and my opponent."

"I am committed to bringing jobs to our state. I have a broad-based plan to put Alabamians back to

work," Bentley said.

The Sparks campaign, however, said he has been gaining ground. A July
poll by Capitol Survey Research showed Bentley with a 22-percentage
point lead, according to the Sparks campaign.

"I support an
education lottery, and Rep. Bentley doesn't. I support taxing and
regulating gaming, and Rep. Bentley doesn't. I have a $1.4 billion
highway jobs program, and Rep. Bentley doesn't. I have a way to pay for
pre-k and scholarships for our children, and he doesn't."